United States

Authored by Federico Pieraccini via The Stratgic Culture Foundation,

Authored by Paul Street via The Strategic Culture Foundation,

Americans are routinely told by politicians and corporate media pundits and talking heads that Russia is their enemy – an “adversary state.”  The assertion has been normalized.  It passes without challenge or justification.

Authored by Simon Black via SovereignMan.com,

On May 31, 1866, John C. Ringling was born in Iowa to German immigrants in what felt like an extremely bleak year.

The chaos and devastation from the Civil War that had ended in 1865 were still keenly felt, and the US economy was in the midst of a deep recession

The country was still shaken from the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.

And the new President, Andrew Johnson, was embroiled in a major political crisis with Congress that would soon lead to his impeachment.

Increasingly some of the more prominent sellside analysts appear to be picking and choosing ideas from their competitors. Earlier, it was JPM echoing Goldman's reco when it cut its 10Y yield forecast. Now, in a note previewing the outcome of this week's OPEC meeting and proposing a way forward for OPEC, Goldman's Damien Couravlin adopted the "backwardation" idea presented last week by Morgan Stanley's Francisco Blanch.

Just one day after Goldman reluctantly cut its 2017 year end forecast on the 10Y yield last Friday from 3.00% to 2.75%, "reflecting some added uncertainty on the US macro outlook" while conceded that "bond bears", i.e., those clients who have listened to it, "have had a difficult 2017" it was JPMorgan's turn, and over the weekend JPM announced it was adjusting its US rate forecast "significantly lower", slashing its year end 10Y yield target to 2.75% from 3%, reflecting “a weaker outlook on core inflation and reduced expectations around tax reform and infra